Biology 11

Camosun Bog It takes thousands of years for a bog to form. It starts off with a lake and peat starts to grow off the edges of the glacial moraine. Peat is also known as dead sphagnum. Dead sphagnum does not decay, which means the sphagnum grows upon the dead sphagnum. Bogs also form sphagnum moss. The keystone species of a bog is sphagnum moss. A keystone species is what defines a bog. Sphagnum maintains the acidic conditions favoured by the bog plants. It has an unbelievable capacity to absorb water. It also pumps hydrogen ions into its environment, building a very acidic surrounding.  Peat is the definition of dead sphagnum. It is a mass of partially decayed vegetarian or organic matter. Peat (dead sphagnum) will always have its structural integrity. This means even after 4000 years the sphagnum will always remain in the bog and grow upon new sphagnum mosses. Peat does not turn into soil because after growing new sphagnum there would be layers of sphagnum.  Dig

Restoring Camosun Bog 5000 years ago, a heavy block of ice made a depression in the land, causing the Camosun Bog to begin. At first Camosun Bog became a lake, a swamp, then finally a bog.   Drains were put around Camosun Bog in 1929   because it became really dry. Students and teachers come on a weekly basis, trying to restore the bog to the way it was 50 years ago. 30,000 hours+ have been put into restoring the bog. Beautiful place to be. “Indigenous plants should be expanded, can become a teaching tool for all people about the value of the bogs biodiversity.”1 Is one the main hopes for Indigenous culture in the Camosun bog.   The mallard ducks that sit in the centre of the bog, in indigenous culture means there is a little family of mallard ducks in the bog. “When the bogs size is reduced, that means people have drained the bog for urbanization, removing what western culture called unusable land or unusable space”2. Most plants have stories amo